May I Love You?
by Hanabi Mirei
Summary: I was fully aware that I was living a lie day by day. It was decided to be like this to begin with and I didn't go against this arrangement either. Though, I couldn't help but yearn for that freedom he always talked about. Pairing : I'm not so sure anymore ; Rated T to be safe ; Based on Ouran High School Host Club manga version. NOT A YAOI!
1. Chapter 1

I, Hanabi Mirei, own nothing of Ouran High School Host Club.

I don't even own Kadomiya Keiichi as he belongs to Bisco Hatori-sama as well.

I only own my OCs and this fanfiction.

Have fun reading!

This fanfiction is based on the manga version of Ouran High School Host Club.

May I Love You?

By Hanabi Mirei

PROLOGUE

_The sky was pouring its heart out at the scene beneath it. The sound of an ambulance coming closer to the scene was echoing in her ears. The picture of people shouting for help and a particular child trying to help another one that was stuck under a fallen car was still fresh in her mind. The warmth of the fallen child's touch was still there in her hand. She guessed it was true that the kindest people die the earliest. Because, right there, buried several feet under the ground, was the kindest person in her world._

_Here lies,_

_A daughter, a sister, a niece, _

_a cousin, and a friend._

_Shiori Kadomiya._

_Date of Birth: 19__nd__ of July 19**_

_Date of Death: 3__rd__ of September 20**_

_Resting in Peace_

CHAPTER 1

I was walking down the corridor of the infamous Ouran Middle School, trying to get to my friend. He was supposed to be in the library just like how we had promised before, but I didn't see any maroon haired boy there. This was the 8th time he didn't show up in our supposed meeting. It made me question his health, particularly the part of his brain that was supposed to be remembering this working-together assignment.

'_Where is _he_? I've been walking around the school for the third time now! I have much more important things to do rather than play this hide and seek game…,_' I let out a sigh as I considered a few minutes of resting.

My eyes searched for a nearby seat and fortunately, it was only a few steps from where I was standing. I leaned against the back of the seat, relaxing my stiff shoulders and aching legs. My hands found themselves massaging my shoulders as my mind wandered around. It might have not been the first time that I looked for this friend of mine, but it was still tiring since I don't have a very good body to begin with.

I closed my eyes and took three deep breaths, calming my slightly fastened heartbeat. Was there a place that I perhaps have missed on the way? Nope, I don't think so. I'd search every possible place that Saotome might go and failed to find the boy.

"Now what should I do with this assignment?" my eyes moved towards the paper I held in hand.

Should I just call it the day and finish everything on my own? That wouldn't be fair, though. Ah, maybe I'll do it myself, then I just have to tell the teacher that he had done nothing. But, then again, he did give me some resources regarding what happened to those who were thrown to the jail and Father wouldn't like it if I abandoned him that since Saotome was one of our business partners.

Just then, a vibration in my pocket cut my thoughts… and I felt stupid for running around the school when I could have just called him. Shaking my head a few times at my stupidity, I grabbed my phone and looked at the caller ID. Grumbling about the person on the other side, I answered the call.

"Where are ya?! I've been inside the library for like 30 minutes, but ya're not there!" I heard Saotome's voice loud and clear.

"I should be the one to ask you that. I did go to the library an hour ago, but didn't saw you there. The meeting was supposed to be at 3 P.M. sharp!" I refused to say anything about the humiliation I'd been through.

"Wait, really? I thought it's 3.30 P.M. Whoops, sorry, man," said the maroon haired boy with no trace of guilt.

"Where are you right now? At home?"

I licked my dry lips before replying, "Nope, I'm on my way to the library now. Just wait for me for a bit."

"Okay! See ya soon!" and he ended the call.

Getting into my feet, I stretched my body a bit, preparing myself for another stiff shoulder in the library. I was just about to walk towards the corridor again when I heard someone called for me.

"Excuse me!" called a voice behind me.

I turned around to meet the one and only heir of the Suoh family, the son of the Ouran School Chairman, Suoh Tamaki. My eyes blinked in visible curiosity while my mind searched for anything that might had been a reason as to why he approached me all of the sudden. I remember nothing of being an acquaintance with him, but then again-

"You must be Kadomiya Keiichi, no?" the blonde-haired person smiled brightly.

I nodded, "Uh'huh. Is there something I can-"

He grabbed my hands suddenly, shaking them, "It's truly a pleasure of meeting you, Kadomiya-kun!"

"Well, the pleasure is all mi-" I was cut off again.

"Brief introduction, I'm Suoh Tamaki, a 3rd year!" he let go of my hands with the smile still on his face.

"Why, yes, I know-," and once again.

"Well, this might have been a surprise for you, but I would like to ask for your help in something!" said the boy.

I raised my eyebrows at his rather… different behavior, but answered anyway, "Sure, what could-"

Tamaki jumped in joy, startled the already surprised me, "Excellent! Bravo! Would you please be a member of my host club later in our high school years?"

At those words I opened my mouth, but not a word came out of my throat. I almost felt my head was hit by a huge question mark. The Suoh heir gave me a very hopeful stare as he waited for my answer. My refusal was caught on my throat at once, as the gesture had always been my weakness. I turned around to block the semi puppy-eyes. I said my refusal once I couldn't see the hopeful eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Suoh-senpai, but I don't think I will have the time to participate in such… interesting activity. My high school years are going to be filled with me learning to take over my parents' company in the future, I'm afraid." My eyes were closed shut.

I could sense his disappointment before he persuaded me again, "But, it will be perfect for you to play the Big Brother type! I can sense from miles away, the beautiful brotherly aura that would always stay to take care of his younger brothers and sisters, radiating from you! It would be a hit if you act like a caring big brother to your customers!"

Letting out a sigh and some deep breaths, I turned around to face him, "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, Suoh-senpai, but my parents would expect me to go for another club activity, or even none, if they have another plan in mind. Please excuse me; I have something that I have to do. Good day, Suoh-senpai."

Bowing my head briefly at the third-year senior, I turned around once again and was met by the long elegant corridor. My mind was briefly clouded, but I chose not to dwell on any of them. Shaking my head, trying to get rid of the thoughts, I continued my way towards the library.

oOoOoOo

A blonde boy was walking towards his black haired friend in the classroom with his shoulder slumped. The black haired friend who noticed his saddened behavior immediately made a conclusion that his friend had failed to persuade the Kadomiya boy to join the club. The glasses boy wouldn't admit it out loud right now, but there certainly was a big amount of money the club could get if Kadomiya Keiichi joined the club. His name was well known around the school and their fathers were business partners. Not only that, but his personality and behavior did resemble the "lovable big brother" image; he certainly had the looks to attract more customers.

"I assume that you have failed, Tamaki." The third son of Ootori Yoshio mentioned.

Tamaki sighed while letting a dramatic tear dropped to his cheeks, "Aaaaah! Not again! Those Hitachiin twins also refused my proposal! My great ideas have been flipped like a flip-flop! Well, of course I have anticipated them to immediately decline the offer, but-"

Kyoya turned from his book to look at the serious expression Tamaki had. It was rare for the heir of the Suoh to show this kind of face. This could only mean that whatever he would say is important.

"Kadomiya Keiichi… that boy certainly has a lot to shoulder as the next heir."

Closing his book, planning to continue the next chapter later on, the Ootori spoke, "Each and every one of us has something to shoulder, Tamaki. Even you will become the next heir of the Suoh's, right. You two have something in common."

"I know that, but still. I have never seen anyone with such… I don't know, dullness, I guess, in one's bright colored eyes." Tamaki sighed.

oOoOoOo

Inside the library, two 2nd year students were sitting, facing each other, discussing a matter seriously. They were doing the assignment that was given two days ago, wanting to finish the assignment as soon and as great as possible. Their assignment was to picture the situation in the end of a war. It was not that hard, but it still required some research here and there.

"Hmm… Should we include this one?" Saotome Masato shoved the book he was reading lightly towards me.

I read the content of the page he pointed while running my hand through my hair. My eyes widened slightly at some of the new points inside the book and nodded to him, indicating that we should put it in.

"That was great information that will support some of the points we have written down." I smiled

The maroon haired boy grinned, "Hah! Then we just have to get the details for this line… and this line, and then were finished! Wo-hoo!"

Masato punched the air while he expressed his excitement, making the librarian shushed him down, reminding him that this is a library. He "Oops!" on it before getting back to work. I smiled sheepishly at the librarian, hoping she would forgive our brief loudness.

We ended up using the same book that Masato used to search for the other details and found them immediately, not far from the previous one. Soon enough, all we had to do was type them, print them, and then we're done! I smiled happily at the feeling of free of homework until next week. Thanking Masato for being a great partner, I went home.

My house was not that far away from school, only about 15 minutes by car. I was greeted by the maids and butlers when I arrived which I smiled in reply. My feet brought me to the stairs and I headed to my room. Thinking about what food I would have for dinner, I opened the door to my room and closed it as soon as I entered.

The room was painted in pastel blue, bringing out the other blues in the room. A large window that has the sight of the city was the first thing you would see after entering my room. To the right, you could see my mini living room and if you turn right again, you will see a door towards my bedroom, my private study, and my bathroom. To the left is a room of "freedom". It contained everything that I consider as entertainment, and a place where I could relax and most of the time; I often took naps there instead of in my bedroom. And so, I went to my bathroom to take a bath before taking a nap.

It was a little late for a nap, but I didn't care. I'd been so used to take naps that if I didn't I would get so tired which lead to a grouchy me. Therefore, I took my time in the bathroom, replaying everything that had happened today. From the morning until I finally here taking a bath.

I closed my eyes as I replayed every single one of them and came to a stop at Suoh-senpai's offer.

_'A host club…'_ I contemplated.

Would there be anything to receive in that activity? Father wouldn't like me to join such… club. He wanted me to be the next heir of Kadomiya's company. Perfection, idealism, and discipline, those three words were the words that my Father held until this very second to make greater achievement. And, of course, he would want me to hold like tight just like how the other Kadomiya family member had done.

I got up from the bathtub and walked towards the sink with 2 towels in hand. I dried my body with one before drying my hair with the other. Dressing myself in casual clothing, I looked at myself in the mirror. It reflected from the top of my head until my mid section. My wet short hair was clinging at the nape of my neck, tickling the skin with the dripping water. I sighed as I ran my hair, seeing the reflection in the mirror mimicked the action. Going out of the bathroom, my feet took me to my "freedom" room to take a nap.

oOoOoOo

The next day was like any other day to me: going to school early in the morning, going through each lesson, and turning in homework to the teacher. I still talked to my classmates to be polite whenever I got the chance. I would not want to displease my parents.

"My parents said that they are going to hold a birthday party for my birthday again this year! And they will give me everything I will need to go all around Europe for two weeks as a present!" shared a daughter of a well-known artist, "Don't worry! I'll invite all of you to my party next month!"

The boy beside me, the son of a successful lawyer, joined the conversation, "Thanks and that's an amazing present indeed. My parents wouldn't let me know anything about my birthday present, but when the day has come I couldn't be happier at the wonderful surprises they give me!"

"Oh, really? What did you get for your birthday last year?" I slipped into the conversation.

"I got a hand-written novel by my most favorite author!" he grinned happily.

Another girl chipped into the chat, "Woah, that's wonderful! I got an elegant dress made by the infamous Hitachiin Yuzuha last year!"

The female in the mini group gasped in both surprise and delight while the male were nodding with a smile on their faces.

"And what about you, Kadomiya-kun? What did you get for your birthday present last year?" asked Saotome who was there during the whole conversation.

"Huh?" I blinked in surprise, didn't expect them to ask a question.

A brown haired girl pouted, "Oh, I already got the feeling that Kadomiya-kun got the best present out of all of us!"

"Yeah! I got the feeling too!" the first girl to bring up the topic agreed.

I glanced around me, seeing that all of them were looking at me with expectation. I smiled, "Oh, it was no better than yours, believe me."

Masato rolled his eyes, "You're so modest, Kadomiya."

I smiled sheepishly at his comment while scratching the non-existing itch near my lips. My eyes caught the girls covered their mouth, trying to hide their squeals in my peripheral sight.

'Whoa… Never knew I could pull on that kind of effect' I silently thought.

That was when I saw a certain blonde at the door, talking to one of my classmate. My classmate looked around the class until his eyes caught mine.

"Ne, Kadomiya-kun! Someone wants to see you!" called the boy.

The mini group around me turned towards the boy before the female blushed at the sight of Suoh Tamaki inside the class. I sat up from my seat and went towards the blonde senpai.

"You're looking for me, Suoh-senpai?" I smiled at him.

The Suoh immediately pulled me into a hug and started spinning me around, "Ooooh! That naughty little gesture you did there didn't go unnoticed in my eyes! It's soooo cute!"

"Argh!Suoh-senpai! Put me down, please!" I demanded, not liking the moving sight of my classroom.

"So cuteeee!" he ignored me.

I struggled in his arms and managed to release myself. I took several steps backwards, putting a distance between us.

"Thank God my mother put me in a self-defense lesson," I quietly muttered.

Coughing to reduce the awkwardness, I met his surprised purple eyes, "Is there something I can help you with?"

"I wanted your answer about my offer yesterday." The senpai said.

"I did give you the answer and it's a no." I rubbed the back of my neck.

"B-B-But, you will be the perfect material as a host, mon ami!" the blonde tried to persuade me yet again.

Shaking my head, I winced, as I had to decline the offer again, "Like I said before, I won't be able to give my time for the club. Besides, there's still a lot who are more worthy than I am."

"Which is why I choose you to be the one!" replied Tamaki.

"But-"

"Kadomiya-kun, please take your time to think about this. There's still time to make the choice. I promise that it won't be that bad." The Suoh looked at me seriously.

I hesitantly nodded, not liking what I was feeling right now. It's the guilt of declining an offer. I was never fond with this feeling in my life, but I had to learn it for the near future. Like I had said before, the hopeful face of a person was my weakness because it always reminded me about my failure.

"Don't worry, Kadomiya-kun. I will always be waiting for you with open arms!" the blonde smiled before walking passed me, muttering about convincing the Hitachiin twins now.

My eyes followed him unconsciously. My head was telling me to head to my friends again to continue the conversation, but my body wouldn't let me. My heart was taking control of my body, as if saying that there was something about Suoh Tamaki as he began to talk enthusiastically to the uninterested Hitachiin Hikaru and his brother, Kaoru.

"_Don't worry, Kadomiya-kun. I will always be waiting for you with open arms!"_

* * *

Author's Note :

Hello readers! :D

I'm Hanabi Mirei! Nice to meet you!

Thank you for reading this story and I admit that I've written this fanfiction for quite awhile, but I'm afraid about your reaction to this first Ouran HSHC I created... But here it is, me gathering my courage to publish "May I Love You". :D

I do hope you like this story! And it's not a yaoi for your information.

Please give me your opinion about this story! It would do me a lot of good!

Thanks again for reading and I will see you next time!

Love,

Hanabi Mirei :)

...

P.S. Okay... Now that I think about it, I'm not sure about the pairings anymore. Let's just let the story flow for awhile, ne? I'll edit the Summary soon about this sudden change. Thanks again!


	2. Chapter 2

I, Hanabi Mirei, own nothing of Ouran High School Host Club.

I don't even own Kadomiya Keiichi as he belongs to Bisco Hatori-sama as well.

I only own my OCs and this fanfiction.

Have fun reading!

This fanfiction is based on the manga version of Ouran High School Host Club.

May I Love You?

By Hanabi Mirei

CHAPTER 2

The sound of feet halting to a sudden stop before stepping forward and backward again resounded in the closed room. Sweat was clinging on everyone's skin as they kept practicing with their partners and that including me. I charged to my opponent, aiming a kick on his jaw. The boy in front of me barely had the chance to dodge my kick, but he did. He tried to counter my attack by taking a hold of my flying foot, but I moved it to the side as quickly as possible before pushing my palm to his chest. He was falling backward when I grabbed the front of his clothes and I pulled him upwards, aiming to forcefully drop him to the floor behind me.

BANG!

"The fight has ended. The winner is," announce the mentor who was watching the friendly match, "Kadomiya Keiichi!"

I offered my hand towards my fallen companion with a smile. He replied me with his own as he accepted my offer. I gently pulled him up and bowed.

"Thanks for the match!" both of us said with our face facing the wooden floor since we bowed our heads towards each other.

I went to sit down after I took some gulps of water from my water bottle beside a nearby wall and wiped my running sweat. My eyes scanned the room as I panted. I was in the dojo where the Karate club was. It was a large empty room with wooden tiles and you could see the paper sliding door here and there that lead to several places. The walls were painted white and there were some calligraphic words in a long piece of paper decorating them. It was just like a typical dojo with the exception of the quality of all of them, of course.

I closed my eyes for a few minutes, resting my pounding heart and rapid breathing. After I'd done so, I looked around the room to study the other students match. It was never wrong to gain more knowledge, right? Not long after that that I heard someone called for me when I was mesmerized in one of my senpai's match.

"Kadomiya-kun! Someone wants to see you outside the dojo!" shouted one of the students.

I answered with a simple "Yes," before stepping outside. Wondering about how should I excuse myself towards the expected blonde haired senior, I sighed. This was getting to me more and more each day due to his persistence. Just imagine yourself being asked to do some job that you have no interest in every single day. And more than twice a day at that.

Turning towards the open door to see a blonde, but instead, I saw…

"Keiichi," a deep voice coming from the tall student in front of me.

My eyes widened slightly out of surprised as I greeted him, "Ah, good afternoon, Takashi-nii!"

The Morinozuka smiled lightly, almost unseen, "Tamaki asked you to join the club."

He certainly didn't beat around the bush.

I was surprised yet again. From the way he spoke, it was enough for me to tell that he was not asking. He was just stating the obvious which I think he got the news from the... obnoxious senior of mine. Though, that also answered my questioned the rumor that he too joined the club as he would always follow his cousin, Haninozuka Mitsukuni. How else would he be chatting with me about this?

"Yeah, he has been asking me to accept his offer like non-stop." I chuckled while scratching the back of my head.

Takashi only nodded, still looking at me with a questioning stare, making me let out a small groan.

"I haven't told my parents about this. They would expect me to go for those business lessons they have prepared, anyways. Therefore, I see no point in telling them soon." I looked at my bare feet.

It was the truth. I didn't make any fake excuses to either of the senpais that had asked about this host club. My parents were rather a perfectionist. They wanted their child to give them the best result just to increase the chance of me being good enough to continue what my ancestors had done. Although, that was something I was not able to accomplish nor was it the thing that I wanted to do for in the future.

I may had been placed as the smartest student in my year, won every competition that the school asked me to join, capable of speaking in several language with fluency, and had the charming vibe that made people turned to me while thinking, "Hmm… I would like to get to know this person". That person, however, was not the real me. It was just me trying to make a difference in my life. Just me, trying to be that perfect child, fighting the fact that perfection which did not exist.

And I did not think that being in the host club would bring me closer to that goal. Yes, I am that kind of child who would say yes to everything my parents said.

"I see." Said the high school student, though I interpreted this as, "You know what you should do, no?"

I nodded slowly, still looking at the ground. My head suddenly felt a warm sensation on the top and I turned to see that he was patting my head as if saying, "I ask you to consider your answer.".

My mouth was tucked into a smile at his different attempt of making me join the host club. A very nice change, for your information.

"If you say so, Takashi-nii!", I rolled my eyes playfully, earning a ruffling on my head.

With that the black haired boy turned around and went to who-knows-where, but I bet he would go back to Haninozuka-senpai's side. He put his left hand inside his pocket, while waved at me with the other eventhough his back was the one facing me. I waved in reply before going back to practice.

Morinozuka Takashi was one of the closest people I had in my life. I met him when I was first introduced to karate. I was amazed by his performance and looked up to him until now. Yes, I know that Haninozuka Mitsukuni was just a bit better than the stoic boy, but I barely knew him eventhough he was always with the Morinozuka. Still, I deeply respect both of them as their kouhai.

oOoOoOo

It had been about a week after Takashi-nii and I talked, and about two weeks after Suoh-senpai had continuously asked me and the Hitachiin twins to join the host club. Both of us kept on refusing while Suoh-senpai kept on persuading. Well, kept on guessing for the twins, I assumed. I kind of know about that since the Suoh was guessing over and over again whenever he and the twins met before or after turning to me. And today was no different…

"The one who're reading the book right now is Hikaru!" his voice boomed inside my classroom.

The twins glanced at the blonde, "What is this, coming to our classroom like this?"

"Am I right? Did I get I right?" Suoh-senpai ignored Hitachiin Hikaru's… or maybe Hitachiin Kaoru's comment.

One of the twins answered, "No, you didn't."

"I've discovered something!..." And the senpai kept on talking with the twins.

I sighed, knowing that soon enough I would get persuade. My mouth had repeatedly said the same words, and I didn't understand which part about the word 'busy' that he didn't get.

"Oi, something wrong with ya, Kadomiya?" Saotome asked as he saw me looked away from the scene a bit far behind us.

I shook my head, "No… It's nothing."

"It must be something since Suoh-senpai had been looking for you like every single day and asking about… what was it?" Masato closed his eyes, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to recall the words.

"About a club that he wanted me to join in. I couldn't because I would be busier in my high school years." I sluggishly explained.

I hadn't talked about the club to my parents. Eventhough Takashi-nii had encouraged me to do so, I was still afraid to talk about this. My parents were a busy man and woman. There was barely time to speak with each other as they had made it clear that they disliked to be seen when they were working. It was disturbing. They drilled that into my head ever since I was a child. The only possible time to talk was during dinner, though dinner shouldn't be filled with this kind of conversation, right?

Masato waved his hand at me when he noticed that I was not listening to him. I snapped out before rubbing the back of my neck, trying to focus on what was happening now.

"You spaced out… again." Masato held his hands in defeat.

"Sorry, but I think I'm going to go home for today." I picked up all the things scattered on my desk and placed it neatly into my bag.

"You're copying the Hitachiin twins, you know?" he leaned forward from his chair in front of me.

I raised my eyebrows a bit, "Huh?"

"The Hitachiin twins had just gone home when you spaced out." Said the maroon haired friend.

My eyes went towards the seats of the twins and saw that they were indeed gone. I must have been thinking so hard that I didn't even notice that the door of the classroom was opened wide. A blur of blonde caught my eye and soon enough the senior was in front of me with his hopeful eyes.

"It's still a "No", Suoh-senpai. I'm sorry and I have to get going now. Have a nice day." I said my good bye at him.

I waved my hands, saying good bye to my classmates who saw me leaving the class. Trying to ignore Suoh-senpai's loud "Waaaaait!", I quickened my pace to the entrance, where car after car was picking up its master and mistress. I stood there with the other students. Seeing no one that I know of, I didn't bother giving my greetings to them. They didn't bother me with greetings as well and patiently waited for their car to arrive. Just a few minutes later, I saw some girls kept on staring at me and whispering to each other. I refrained myself from looking at their direction, knowing that they would squeal loudly. One by one walked down the stairs to meet their butler and maid. My mind ran wildly from thoughts to another to busy myself.

_'Two months from now, the class will hold a film festival as a closing ceremony. I do hope they won't serve movies with too much blood scenes. It made me puke last year. Two months from now, I will go into the third year of middle school. Nothing's wrong with it. I will be seeing the same classmates as now. Two months from now, the host club will commence. Wait a second, why am I even thinking of joining that club?'_ my stopped my head from thinking further and tried to find other topic, or perhaps recalling upcoming events.

_'Today is the 20th of February. The Saotome's Corporation 30th Anniversary is on the 25th... 25th of April. It's nearing...'_ I thought.

A familiar looking car was nearing up and I got inside of it as my family's butler opened the door for me. He made a short chit-chat of how school had been going, how were my friends, and such which I answered calmly with a smile on my face. Thanking him for asking how I was, I then asked for the schedule for today. Trying to remember all the things I had to do after this 15 minutes ride, I prepared myself for the usual tight schedule.

"Today's schedule is just an extended dinner time for Young Master Keiichi and Master Kadomiya. He asked me to let you know that there will be something he would like to discuss, particularly about Mistress Kadomiya." He elaborated.

My once closed eyes were opened immediately at the mention of my mother, "Is something wrong with Mother? Is she sick?"

My back straightened up and I went into a serious mood. Did she get into an accident? But shouldn't I be dismissed much earlier when I was at school if that happened?

"No, nothing happened to the mistress." The butler shook his head.

"I see..." I went back to lean on the limo's seat, gladness was apparent in my voice.

I wouldn't want anything to happen to her. I loved her.

The limo was then filled with silence all the way to the Kadomiya resident.

oOoOoOo

I knocked on the door several times before entering the dining room. I had freshened up and it was now dinner time. Curiosity filled me since the time on the car of the subject that was brought by Father. Hearing a muffled, "Come in" from the other side of the door, I shook my head to dismiss all the questions since Father would answered them.

Expecting to see a man in suit on the head chair of the long table, I blinked my eyes when I saw my Mother sitting next to him. If the topic of our talk is the woman beside him, then why bringing her in? Or maybe he will dismiss her after dinner? Or Mother was actually involved in this conversation?

Questions, questions, questions...

I smiled at both of them, earning a reply from Mother and a nod from my father, "Good evening, Father and Mother."

"Good evening, Keiichi." Greeted Mother.

I took my usual seat on the long table and waited. Father gave the signal to his loyal butler to serve them dinner and he did with the other maids. I quietly eat my dinner after drinking some water to relief my slight thirst. It made it easier to swallow down the food to my throat as well.

We ate in silence, from the appetizer to the main dish and lastly dessert. It was when the main courses were given was Father started the conversation.

"How was your school, Keiichi? I hope you have done well like always." He said while cutting a piece of meat.

"Yes, Father. I have done my best at the final examination and earned first rank out of all the students." I stopped myself from digging the curry rice on the plate.

Mother smiled proudly at me, "Well done, my dear. I knew you are able to out rank that Aiga boy (AU: I will explain this further in the bottom Author Note) from the start."

Father nodded, agreeing the woman's statement.

"It will not be long until you begin your high school years, Keiichi. I expect you to keep your studies and achievement to the top for years after as well. You are not allowed to put stains on the golden cloth the Kadomiya has sewn." Father continued to remind me of my duties.

"Yes, Father..." I nodded with a smile on my face as I faced him before I continued to eat my dinner.

Drilled with what I had to face later in the future, I just did whatever he wanted me to do without complain. Complaining was not acceptable. If you have time to complain, it means that you have more than enough time to complete a task.

The word "host club" suddenly entered my mind.

Should I give this a shot?

... Later. I'll do it later, nearing the end of dinner.

The chit-chat continues lightly inside the dining room. After dessert had been finished, I gulped down the remaining water in the glass before putting the glass back to where it was. Opening my mouth to tell them, I was once again cut by the head of Kadomiya.

"Keiichi." He turned to face me with his hands on the table, fingers laced near his nose.

"Yes, Father?"

"I'm would like to talk to you about a certain matter regarding this afternoon."

_'Ah, this is it.'_ I thought with my hands clenched under the table.

"Of course, Father."

Kadomiya Hideaki turned to his wife, silently asking for privacy which she nodded. The woman kissed my temple lovingly before walking out of the room. The man then asked me to follow him to his study instead of talking to me in the room. I followed him obediently, walking from hall to hall and a staircase. When we arrived, we walked inside the clean study and we sat facing each other.

He pushed a hidden button on the side of his table, not wanting to have any interruption or someone hearing the conversation they were going to have. Noticing the sudden wary act, I immediately took it as a clue of what we were going to talk about. We sat there in silence, not knowing what words should be given to start the conversation.

These were the only time that I'd seen my father aged much older than he actually was.

oOoOoOo

"Keiichi, I have heard that you were asked by Suoh Yuzuru's son to join a club later in high school." Hideaki started.

It was another dinner time the next day. I was quite caught of guard by the sudden mention of the club. I was about to tell him about that for sure today, but he beat me to it, I guess.

"You know what you should do, yes?" he made sure.

I answered him the typical things about relationships in business and gave him the plan I thought he would be pleased with.

He shook his head, though and gave me a different plan.

Not questioning my father, I remained on my seat with my fist clenched lightly.

"I understand... Excuse me, Father, but what about those lessons that you have arranged for me for those years in high school?" I boldly asked, quite surprised by the sudden confidence I got.

"Ah, I have change my plans about that. You are going to be brought directly inside of the company's business and attend things there. This way is more efficient than attending lessons." He informed me.

"I see. Thank you, Father." Nodding my head with a slight smile.

"Now, go. You are dismissed." He said before turning to the paper on his desk.

I bowed and left the study to my room, processing everything.

I dully remembered passing our used to be happy family photo attached on the wall, looking grand and magnificent, without a second glance that I always gave.

_... Or so I thought._

* * *

Author's Note :

Hello, again dear readers! :D

How is it going? ;)

Well, this is the second chapter of May I Love You?. What do you think? Let me know please! Or perhaps you kind of get the whole mystery in this fic? XD Let me know please! Or you could just answer the answer like the order below :

1) How are you? XD And Happy early Easter to those who celebrates this event!

2) Tell me about what you think about this chapter and which part makes the most impression please :D

3) Would you want me to put a bit of Keiichi's profile? ;) Or a Q&amp;A talk perhaps?

4) Did you find a lot of confusion and mystery in this story?

5) What do you think will happen in the next chapter?

And for the **NOTE **that I've written in the middle of the chapter about the Aiga boy, I will explain about him further here. This Aiga boy was known as Soga Kazukiyo, the president of class 1A in Ouran High School. He had dark brown hair that was parted in the middle and he wore dark framed glasses as well.  
In the anime episode, _Until the Day it Becomes a Pumpkin_, it's revealed that Kazukiyo has a crush on Kurokano Momoka and wants to prove he's not scared so he can impress her in the Halloween event. Though his fears get the best of him, he lasts longer than Momoka, who's paired with Renge.  
When the twins overhear that Kazukiyo is a scaredy cat, they immediately join his team for Class 1-A's Halloween scarefest and prank him relentlessly. When their team becomes separated, Kaoru and Kazukiyo wind up locked in a room together. Kaoru is surprisingly friendly to Kazukiyo in the absence of his brother, despite his clear annoyance that Kazukiyo can't tell them apart, and admits that he and Hikaru had made a plan for Kazukiyo to prove his bravery to his secret crush, Momoka.  
In the manga, it had the same main point there. By the way, I copy all of those explanation from ouran wikia, mind you.

I had a slight dilemma about using his name in the manga which was Aiga Kazukiyo or Soga Kazukiyo, but I did say that this fic is based on the manga so Aiga Kazukiyo it is!

SPOILER : Keiichi's and Kazukiyo's score was... uhm, I don't really know the word, but you could say that they were trying to beat each other academically. So sometimes Keiichi had the best score, but sometimes it's Kazukiyo's. The word is competitive, no?

I would like to thank the reviewers :

Wilhelm Wigworthy, Guest, Kookie, and ZeamagiriZyenn for reviewing the first chapter!

For Guest : Thank you for reading this first Ouran fanfiction of mine! I am so happy that my hard work of making the first chapter payed off! I tried to make it as original as possible and avoid Mary-Sue-ness of the OC and OOC of the canons! Do hope I'm doing well... By the way, I would love to hear more of your thoughts in your review for this chapter and the future ones! XD

For Kookie : Thank you for reading this story! And thank you for your compliments! I do hope my plot won't bore you or the other readers there for the later chapters... D: But, I'm also hoping to read more of your opinion for this chapter and the future ones! :3

I would like to thank all of you silent readers out there for reading May I Love You?! Thank you for the favorites (FullofStars and Thetroublewithexes) and for the follow (CaityPanda, FullofStars, Wilhelm Wigworthy, and ZeamagiriZyenn)!

If you don't want to miss the update for this story, feel free to follow this story and if you like this story, don't forget to click the favorite button! :D

Well, that's all for the author note, I guess. :I

See you next time!

Love,

Hanabi Mirei :)


	3. Chapter 3

I, Hanabi Mirei, own nothing of Ouran High School Host Club.

I don't even own Kadomiya Keiichi as he belongs to Bisco Hatori-sama as well.

I only own my OCs and this fanfiction.

Have fun reading!

This fanfiction is based on the manga version of Ouran High School Host Club.

May I Love You?

By Hanabi Mirei

CHAPTER 3

After the weekend ended, I went back to school as usual. The different thing that I would be doing today was...

Joining the host club.

My heart raced when my thought paused to that particular topic. I didn't really know what reason I should give when Suoh-senpai asked for it. I mean, come on, after thousands of rejection and suddenly he accepted the fact that I would join immediately?

Souh Tamaki was not that stupid.

Not only that, I was afraid that I would see him with his partner, Ootori Kyoya-san.

If Tamaki didn't suspect my sudden change of behavior, then Ootori-san would. He was a very sharp person and I didn't like dealing with him very much. Living up the Ootori name, I didn't know what I should do. He probably knew the answer already.

Business connection.

Somehow, my heart didn't mind it as much as it minded the Suoh if my reasoning was found out. I felt immensely guilty about this.

Sighing, I sat down on my seat in the classroom after greeting my classmates. Rubbing my temples lightly, I tried to figure out what method should I use to not make the accepting suspicious.

Everything is suspicious.

You wouldn't go like, "Okay, I'll go because you're so persistent." after thousands of rejection would you? Or go like, "Fine, I'm going if only..." you stated your requirements there in the dots. An act would be needed here...

"Mornin', Kadomiya!" Saotome Masato put his bag as he sat in the seat in front of mine.

I greeted him back before continuing my train of thoughts, trying to keep replying to his current trivial blabbering.

"Yeah..." I answered

"Hey, ya listenin', Kadomiya?" Masato took a hint of my distant answers.

"... Not really, sorry." I smiled guiltily at him, "I got lots of things inside my head right now... Trying to solve the puzzle..."

Masato looked at me weird all of the sudden, "So there is something the Kadomiya Keiichi couldn't solve..."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Now it was my turn to look at him oddly.

"Dude, ya're a genius and everyone thought of ya as the definition of perfect. No problem and such; like, living a totally happy life." He elaborated with some hand gestures.

I chuckled lightly at the new information, "Oh, come on. That is not true. I have my weaknesses as well as problems. It's just that I tried to solve it as efficient as possible."

He just nodded, understanding.

The bell rang a few minutes after our brief conversation. The teacher came in and we greeted him like always before the class began.

oOoOoOo

"Kadomiya Keiichi!" the teacher of the second period called my name.

I stood up to take the paper from the old man. Walking for the paper, I felt eyes followed me. I took the paper from the teacher when he said,

"It's another perfect score, Kadomiya-san. Keep it up!" he spoke in English.

"Thank you and I will, Sir." I replied him with the same foreign language.

I looked at the number that I'd scored at the latest English test.

10/10.

Proud of my work, I let myself smile happily. A whistle sounded in front of me. I looked up to see Masato looked at the number I had scored as well and found a light scowl tugged on his mouth.

"Dude, how did ya do that? I could have sworn that the test was a piece of cake and yet I didn't score perfect." He raised an eyebrow questionably.

"... Uhm, I studied?" I dumbly answered my maroon-haired friend.

He gave me the oh-really-expression, "Ya sure? Ya didn't take any of those courses and such? Or maybe an extensive English lesson?"

I shook my head, "No. I just like English, so learning the language is kind of a breeze."

Masato looked at his own test paper and borrowed mine, trying to see the differences. As he took my paper, I paid more attention at the students that were being called forward to receive the same paper.

"Hitachiin Kaoru!" the old man called out to the boy.

I turned my attention to the Hitachiin who were sitting next to each other. Guessing that the right one was the younger Hitachiin, I was wronged when it was actually the left that took the paper. It seemed that I gave him a certain face because he raised an eyebrow at me slightly, hinting that he noticed my sudden attention on him. I immediately looked away from the eye contact and rolled my eyes to another student. From my peripheral vision, however, I could see the sitting Hitachiin saw this.

What had just happened?

"Oh! I see!" my friend's voice brought my attention to him.

I turned to him, ignoring the pair of eyes on my head, "You know the differences now?"

"Yeah! Man, I forgot to change some of the words into their plural form. That's why I didn't score maximum." He grumbles at the last sentence.

I chuckled lightly, "Don't worry. There are more than 3 tests to undergo before the final scoring. You should do more for those tests."

He nodded and his eyes suddenly looked at something from my left side before looking at me. He gave me an unreadable expression when he met my eyes.

"What?" I blinked.

He then mouthed, 'Hitachiin'

My eyebrows furrowed at the mention of the name.

'_Why were they looking at me?_' I thought silent.

I shook my head lightly, quietly telling Masato to not bother. He nodded his head, not wanting to get into my business. Trying to distract the heir of Saotome, I threw a topic into the conversation.

"The Saotome's Corporation 30th Anniversary is on the 25th. Are you ready for the party?" I lightly asked.

He frowned immediately, "As much as I love my family, I can't stand how my necktie has to be very tight. It's literally suffocating me, man!"

I laughed at the expression he gave, "You've got to get used to it by now. You're going to do that for a lifetime, you know."

He grumbled, "Well, yeah, sure. Sometimes I wish I'm the second son of the family so that I won't be the heir. Being an heir is such a pain."

"Now, now. It's our calling for that one." I leaned back on my chair.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me, 30th of April, that's your birthday, right?" He ruffled his maroon hair, making it messier than before.

I nodded, acknowledging the nearing birthday.

"Then ya'll be doing a birthday party, right?"

I nodded again, knowing that Father and Mother would want to celebrate this like any other year for business purpose. My heart clenched lightly at the notion of celebrating another party without that person. Something inside of me disagreed once again at how submissive I was about 'letting my parents walk their way in my life', especially for an event this big.

No, more like for this particular event every single year.

"Yeah. Like every other year, Saotome-kun." I smiled.

Snap!

I winced at the pain I gained on my forehead. My eyes looked at the maroon head in confusion for his abrupt change of behavior. Frowning, I asked what was wrong that he had to flick my forehead all of the sudden.

"I know what ya're thinking, Keiichi." He suddenly changed how he called me with.

I blinked before lowering my eyes. Masato maybe an idiot, but that didn't mean all those years together went to waste just like that. He could smartly pick up on things that I was thinking. Even after I had changed for some years, he didn't go away. He stayed as the person who I could cling on for a while until I recovered.

With my lips turned upward for a bit, I looked back at him. He took this as a sign to continue,

"Ya're thinking about Shiori-chan, right?" he bravely spoke the name I hadn't heard coming out of the people's mouth for some time.

I missed it, but of course I missed her more than anything.

"It's been quite a while since I heard her name being spoken, even from you, Masato."

Masato smiled sadly and closed his eyes as he spoke, "I am trying not to. But, what can I say? It's your birthday. A birthday should be celebrated with the people ya love."

I nodded my head in agreement. '_Another incomplete birthday party to hold. A forever incomplete one._'

"... I miss her," I muttered, "Everything of her."

oOoOoOo

_I was brought inside a dream where everything was white. I looked around the odd place with nothing in mind, simply wanting to know my surrounding. There, a few feet behind me, a music box was placed on the concrete floor. My back turned to face that familiar looking object. My mind took control of my body, wanting to touch that wooden box._

_Crouching to get ahold of it, I was surprised to see the box was gone. My eyes saw a pair of tiny feet instead. Moving my vision upward, I slowly saw a thin body of a girl, wrapped with a simple white cloth. I slowly saw the person's face. Her green eyes stood out from her face. They were looking at me…_

_No, they were looking through me._

_The girl was looking at me bitterly. Her expression showed of how disappointed she was to me. Arms that she linked behind her back slowly pulled apart and her right hand extended towards me. Does she want me to take her lending hand?_

_As if she could hear my thoughts, she nodded. With her eyes still looking sad, she gave me a strained smile. My body moved on its own, reaching for her hand. When my hand did, my eyes widened when my hand went through hers. It seemed like she did not expect that to happen as she jumped lightly._

_She seemed to understand the reason behind the peculiar contact because she smiled again and shook her head. Tilting her head lightly, she pulled back her hand, linking them once again behind her back. When she looked at me, her lips moved, forming a word after another._

_My ears couldn't hear anything she said. I asked her to repeat, but she only waved me goodbye._

oOoOoOo

The night of the 30th had come and gone. It was like any birthday party of the rich people to have. Tall birthday cake, dressed in a fine of suit and tie and dresses for the ladies, amazingly decorated hall, five stars cooking from top Western and Japanese chefs, music played by a well-known orchestra, and of course the mountain of birthday presents were there. Adults talked among themselves in small groups with their children copying their action. I looked at the crowd filled with people I knew as well as not. Most of the adults were of course friends of my parents, while I only know a handful of the teenagers of my age and some younger and older ones. In instance, the Haninozuka's and Morinozuka's Head Family came to congratulate my aging self with their sons, Haninozuka Mitsukuni, Haninozuka Yasuchika, Morinozuka Takashi, and Morinozuka Satoshi.

Some whom I didn't really know well were of course the Suoh and Ootori. I put on my business smile as both Suoh Yuzuru and Ootori Yoshio gave me their well wishes before that business smile cracked a bit at the sight of Suoh Tamaki following his father. My business smile was mirroring the perfect fake smile of Ootori Kyoya right after that. I could hear his whisper quite loud when he made his way to the drinking station.

"It's a pleasure of working with you in the near future," he said with what I swore to be a smirk.

Yes, I had accepted Suoh-senpai's offer of being a member of the host club. I remembered clearly of how his jaw dropped to the floor at how I 'submitted' to him. Well, of course, he asked for my reasoning of suddenly taking the offer. I chose to answer them with honesty that my lessons were taken back, so I had the time to go to the club now. I joked that it would do me some entertainment other that books. After that, I told them some of my condition of being a member of the club. Not long after that, I found myself on the ground with Tamaki on top of me, holding me close all the way, blocking my way of breathing.

He was pulled back by a tired looking Ootori Kyoya and apologized for the Suoh heir rash action. I shrugged, saying that it was okay and thanked him for the help. Suoh-senpai expressed slight discouragement, but he popped back into his happy-go-lucky personality as he told the black haired boy about how happy he was for I accepted his offer. Kyoya said that he had heard the agreement for himself, saying that he watched the whole thing while pushing his glasses.

I wasn't aware that my nervousness in the beginning had melted away easily and I came back to my normal self. I informed them again about what I would do and they agreed to it with some conditions, knowing that it was something my father had to do with. Finally, we agreed to each other's term and wa-la!

My mom called me in no less than a minute after that to reunite me with two who had one shared my fate of being chased by Suoh-senpai, Hitachiin Hikaru and Hitachiin Kaoru. The twins wore the same bored expression and I could see clearly how they didn't want to be here. They were probably forced to come by Hitachiin Yuzuha due to the fact that my mother and theirs were quite close to each other just recently. The Hitachiin brothers grumbled a "Happy Birthday" to me after a jab was given from the female fashion designer.

When I felt sure that no one was going to look for me, I went to the balcony. To my surprise and pleasure, no one was there. I got the entire space for myself. My feet take me near the railings and my hands automatically moved for a comfortable leaning position with a glass of fruit punch in my left hand. Looking at the broad dark sky above, I sighed.

The balcony used to be the place where I and my dearest sibling hid from the crowd. No one was looking for us whenever we went here which brought us a sense of peace. In this same spot, we sat, stood, and started to talk about anything that came in our mind. From some stingy ladies' bad fashion taste until the taste of the food that were prepared. We laughed and talked like the world was filled with only the two of us.

I still remembered how we didn't really want to talk to our classmates since we had met them every single day nor did we talk much to our closer acquaintances like Takashi-nii. It was either I forgot the reason why or we plainly didn't care about it because we got each other. And having each other was already enough… until one of us left.

It was then that the world felt very lonely and vast. Everything felt new and frightening. I had been forced to face the universe with little time to recover from the wound of losing my other self. No one was there to protect me, to calm me down, to cheer me up, and to give me attention when Mom and Dad were just too busy. Masato had been there, but it wasn't the same.

Everything just wasn't the same.

"Ah! Keiichi! What are you doing here alone when you have a fantastic party for yourself, mon ami?"

I didn't need to turn my head to see who talked. Who else if it wasn't the heir of the Suoh to speak 'mon ami' out of the people I know of? To be polite, I turned myself to face him when he reached the spot beside me.

"Good evening, Suoh-senpai." I smiled lightly.

He glanced at me again with his index finger being moved from side to side in a 'tut-tut' way, "You didn't answer my question yet, Keiichi. And you should call me Tamaki instead! Suoh-senpai is too formal. It made me feel old as well!"

"Well," I looked back at the shining stars, "I had been searching for fresh air."

The blonde looked at me with a weird face, "Why would you need the evening breeze to be of comfort? Haven't the fantastic party done you good?"

I laughed lightly before turning to him, "I'm not the party people, Suoh-senpai."

"Not anymore…" I muttered.

Tamaki turned to me all of the sudden, making me aware that he had hear of what I muttered. His face expressed how he wanted me to elaborate further. I contemplated my next move as my heart and my mind were fighting for dominance. The little battle, however, was won by my heart.

_'__It's not like he knows her anyway… '_ I thought silently.

"Well, Senpai, I am missing someone who hasn't been coming to my birthday party for some years now. She didn't give me any message nor call for the absence. We lost contact of each other I guess even though her parents attended this party." I explained, not wanting to give more information of the person I was referring to.

"Oh, my! Keiichi has a crush on someone?!" Tamaki gaped, "Who is this lucky girl might I ask?"

I smiled lightly, denying his jumping conclusion, "No, no, Senpai. I love her in a brother and sister relationship, not in that way."

The senior nodded his head, "I see. You know, Keiichi? The more I know you, the more I want to do some change about you."

"Uh, what?" I sweat dropped at him, not getting what he said.

"I don't know why, but I feel as though you're putting a mask like how Kyoya used to do. Though, you're different from Kyoya. Behind his mask, Kyoya was cunning, but behind your mask? I'm thinking of the line of more secrets." Tamaki said in a serious voice as he tried to figure me out.

I blink my eyes at him before turning my gaze to the starts above once again.

_'__Hee~ He doesn't know how right he is.'_

* * *

Author's Note :

I'M ALIVE! :D

I'm sorry for the late update! Fanfiction was blocked from my internet all of the sudden! I was so upset that I almost downloaded a proxy just to upload the next chapters of my stories! It's a good thing I didn't because I never used a proxy before and I don't really know if it's alright to use it. My big bro has jsut given me a program that could safely open the blocked sites from the internet soooo here I am now!

I will add the next chapter of my other stories as well this week! This information is of course for those who has read my other fanfics :D

I do hope that this chapter doesn't cause a lot of confusion and such and that you like it!

Thank you for those who still read this story! It means a lot to me! For those who only read but didn't review, it's alright! I'm happy!

For Kookie: Thank you for being my only reviewer for my previous chapter! :D And thank you for the compliment as well! I'm glad that this story keeps you on the edge (just kidding!) and that the plot is interesting enough to continue reading :') I hope to hear your opinion for this chapter and the ones in the future! :D

Thank you for those who has added this story in their alert or favorites as well!

Just, thank you!

Reviews are appreciated! PM me if you need me for something or just want to talk to me :P

I hope to see you soon!

Love,

Hanabi Mirei


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